The Bellapocalypse

With all of the focus given to the Bella feud, I've been thinking of women's wrestling as a whole. Specifically, it's drawing power and future. I understand the bellatrocity is an attempt to lure Total Diva fans into the product. This gives some justification to its high slot on the shows; but not much.

However, aside from this forced corporate synergy, has women's wrestling ever had real drawing power for the big US promoters (WWE, WCW, AWA)? The Fabulous Moolah was champion for 20+ years. Was this due to her ability to put butts in seats or her political maneuvering? Did Trish and Lita ever headline a C-Show? Did Chyna? What is the highest a women's match ever been up the card? I remember the Finlay-booked Diva's matches to some of be the best segments of Raw. The Diva's segments now? Not so much.

is it incorrect to say the highest goal for a woman wrestler in North America to achieve now is not the Diva's title or a semi-main event at Wrestlemania, but a costarring role on Total Divas.

Given the ratings for the show I don't think it's gonna be around much longer.

Moolah's title reign was due to her fucking the promoter and then basically holding the industry hostage by training girls and taking a cut of their money. She had no drawing power on her own. The highest I can remember a women's match ever being was the Trish v. Lita title match in 2004, which main evented RAW. In 1999, Smackdown was originally conceived and pitched as a women's show before UPN pulled the plug at the last minute and forced them to switch to a general RAW-style men's show instead. So that would have been interesting if nothing else.